A winter storm warning is in effect for much of Eastern North Carolina, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters say that snow and heavy rains are possible Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
The precipitation is likely to start as rain or a mix of rain and snow then gradually transition to snow late Wednesday night, according to the warning. Coastal areas are not expected to see a transition to snow until daybreak Thursday.
Earth Changes
© Jack Tran / The Australian
John Craigie and his wife Gail at their flooded property west of Brisbane yesterday.
John Craigie and his wife Gail at their flooded property west of Brisbane yesterday.
It is a big ask. But Mr Craigie felt greatly encouraged after sitting through the formal opening of a commission of inquiry into the floods in Brisbane and hearing senior assisting counsel Peter Callaghan SC say that the lessons of the city's deadly 1974 floods had been ignored and this must not happen again.
"People in our communities of Pine Mountain, Fernvale and Lowood live closest to Wivenhoe Dam and suffered very badly in the floods," Mr Craigie, 54, told The Australian as he took notes in a courtroom that will be the inquiry's city arena.
"We want our questions answered and we need to have confidence in (the dam operator) SEQWater. We need reassurance that lessons from the flooding will be properly understood.
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Queensland Floods
Queensland Floods
In his debut submission to commissioner Cate Holmes, counsel assisting the inquiry Peter Callaghan SC said the experience of Queensland's floods more than three decades ago -- in which 14 people died and thousands of homes were inundated in January 1974 -- had been forgotten.
"There was no comparable commission of inquiry into those events of 37 years ago. This commission affords an opportunity to ensure the lessons that must be learned from this occasion are recorded for the future," Mr Callaghan said.
"In this way, it might be hoped Queenslanders are neither condemned to the fate of those who cannot remember the past, nor left vulnerable at the hands of those who might choose to forget it."
Cold temperatures and heavy snow crippled north Georgia in January. Despite heavier-than-normal snowfall, precipitation amounts were below normal, increasing drought conditions across the state.
Georgia's temperature was significantly below normal last month. In Atlanta, the monthly average temperature was 40.2 degrees F (2.5 degrees below normal), in Athens 39.7 degrees (2.5 degrees below normal), Columbus 43.6 degrees (3.2 degrees below normal), Macon 42 degrees (3.5 degrees below normal), Savannah 45.1 degrees (4.1 degrees below normal), Brunswick 49.1 degrees (2.6 degrees below normal), Alma 44.9 degrees (6.8 degrees below normal), Valdosta 47.3 degrees (2.6 degrees below normal) and Augusta 41.7 degrees (3.1 degrees below normal).
If colder-than-normal temperatures continue into February, this winter could possibly set records for the coldest winter ever in some parts of Georgia. Record low temperatures were set at Macon, Savannah and Alma Jan. 14. Macon reported 16 degrees, breaking the old record of 19 degrees set that date in 1970. Savannah and Alma reported 18 degrees, surpassing the old records of 20 degrees set at both locations in 1964.
Georgia's temperature was significantly below normal last month. In Atlanta, the monthly average temperature was 40.2 degrees F (2.5 degrees below normal), in Athens 39.7 degrees (2.5 degrees below normal), Columbus 43.6 degrees (3.2 degrees below normal), Macon 42 degrees (3.5 degrees below normal), Savannah 45.1 degrees (4.1 degrees below normal), Brunswick 49.1 degrees (2.6 degrees below normal), Alma 44.9 degrees (6.8 degrees below normal), Valdosta 47.3 degrees (2.6 degrees below normal) and Augusta 41.7 degrees (3.1 degrees below normal).
If colder-than-normal temperatures continue into February, this winter could possibly set records for the coldest winter ever in some parts of Georgia. Record low temperatures were set at Macon, Savannah and Alma Jan. 14. Macon reported 16 degrees, breaking the old record of 19 degrees set that date in 1970. Savannah and Alma reported 18 degrees, surpassing the old records of 20 degrees set at both locations in 1964.
More than 9,500 power outages are being reported in Oklahoma by the state's two largest electric utilities.
More than 9,500 power outages are being reported in Oklahoma by the state's two largest electric utilities.
Oklahoma Gas and Electric reports 4,739 outages Thursday morning with more than 1,700 in Arcadia and more than 1,600 in Harrah. Public Service Company of Oklahoma reports 4,817 outages with more than 3,000 of those in Nowata County and about 1,200 in Lawton.
PSO spokesman Ed Bettinger said the cause was not known. An OG&E spokesman did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
More than 9,500 power outages are being reported in Oklahoma by the state's two largest electric utilities.
Oklahoma Gas and Electric reports 4,739 outages Thursday morning with more than 1,700 in Arcadia and more than 1,600 in Harrah. Public Service Company of Oklahoma reports 4,817 outages with more than 3,000 of those in Nowata County and about 1,200 in Lawton.
PSO spokesman Ed Bettinger said the cause was not known. An OG&E spokesman did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
Bartlesville, Oklahoma. - Records amount of snow have fallen across the state, and now records for low temperatures are starting to fall too.
In fact, some temperatures across the state Thursday morning were lower than North Pole, Alaska, which was a balmy 16 degrees.
In fact, some temperatures across the state Thursday morning were lower than North Pole, Alaska, which was a balmy 16 degrees.
A lake effect snow storm has dumped nearly 2 feet of snow on parts of central New York, forcing school closings and travel restrictions in some communities.
The National Weather Service reports Thursday morning that 19 inches fell in less than 6 hours in Pulaski (puh-LAS'-keye) in Oswego County and 23 inches has fallen on nearby Redfield, near Lake Ontario's eastern end 35 miles north of Syracuse.
Many schools in the county have canceled classes or delayed their start by an hour or two.
Officials in the city of Oswego and Redfield have issued no unnecessary travel advisories.
The National Weather Service reports Thursday morning that 19 inches fell in less than 6 hours in Pulaski (puh-LAS'-keye) in Oswego County and 23 inches has fallen on nearby Redfield, near Lake Ontario's eastern end 35 miles north of Syracuse.
Many schools in the county have canceled classes or delayed their start by an hour or two.
Officials in the city of Oswego and Redfield have issued no unnecessary travel advisories.
The Maryland Emergency Management Agency has been monitoring a chemical leak that happened in West Virginia. An odd odor has been reported throughout Frederick, Prince George's, and Montgomery counties, the Baltimore Sun reported.
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South Arkansas Snow
South Arkansas Snow
The National Weather Service had warned that snow accumulation in some areas, combined with freezing temperatures, could lead to hazardous driving conditions. The system was dropping sleet and rain in addition to snow.
By late Thursday morning, winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories that had been in effect in 10 states had largely expired, remaining in effect only in eastern North Carolina. Hard freeze warnings had stretched from Texas' border with Mexico into Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Mississippi.
Even as those alerts expired, the Weather Service put new hard freeze warnings in place for Friday morning in central Mississippi, southeast Louisiana and southern Texas.
The agency had warned that snow accumulation in some areas, combined with freezing temperatures, could lead to hazardous driving conditions late Wednesday and into Thursday morning. The system was dropping sleet and rain in addition to snow.
"I've been here a long time and I've never seen anything like it," said Sharon Hickman, who manages Back Yard Burgers in Tupelo, Mississippi.
An Icy blast tugged temperatures well below zero degrees in a large swath of the South on Thursday, leaving ranchers and farmers fretting about their animals after a winter storm dropped 2 feet of snow on parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma and left at least three people dead.
Forecasters predicted lows of minus 11 degrees in northwest Arkansas and minus 10 degrees in parts of Oklahoma. But by early morning, temperatures had dipped to minus 18 in Fayetteville and to minus 27 in Bartlesville, Okla., according to the National Weather Service.
In an area of the nation unaccustomed to such snow and subzero temperatures, those numbers had cattlemen such as Paul Marinoni crossing their fingers that pregnant cows won't give birth during the coldest hours. The newborns could stick to the ground, much like tongues on a flagpole, and die, Marinoni said.
"How do you prevent it?" Marinoni, 70, said from his farm outside Fayetteville. "You can't."
Marinoni said he leaves the cows out overnight because they're too messy to stay inside a barn. Even before the temperatures dipped to well below zero, some cows had collected fins of icicles down their backs as the snow.
Forecasters predicted lows of minus 11 degrees in northwest Arkansas and minus 10 degrees in parts of Oklahoma. But by early morning, temperatures had dipped to minus 18 in Fayetteville and to minus 27 in Bartlesville, Okla., according to the National Weather Service.
In an area of the nation unaccustomed to such snow and subzero temperatures, those numbers had cattlemen such as Paul Marinoni crossing their fingers that pregnant cows won't give birth during the coldest hours. The newborns could stick to the ground, much like tongues on a flagpole, and die, Marinoni said.
"How do you prevent it?" Marinoni, 70, said from his farm outside Fayetteville. "You can't."
Marinoni said he leaves the cows out overnight because they're too messy to stay inside a barn. Even before the temperatures dipped to well below zero, some cows had collected fins of icicles down their backs as the snow.
